Michael Kiwanuka - I'm Getting Ready

When Michael Kiwanuka’s name first started getting bandied around as a genuine frontrunner for the BBC Sound poll, I’m Getting Ready was – for me – the song that really sold him as a winner. As with the rest of his material, it boasts his lovingly produced retro-soul formula but in this instance, the melodies really cut at their cleanest and the tender touches of guitar feel at their most warm. The result is a thing of real beauty that easily positions Kiwanuka as one of the most exciting new songwriting talents in the country. There’s no ‘getting ready’ about it, we’re already full-time believers in him.

Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again

In case you haven't already heard of Michael Kiwanuka, he's basically the singer songwriter to look out for in 2012, and quite frankly, his talent speaks for himself.

Listening to new single Home Again is like listening to an old classic, a song woven into the tapestry of musical history and the past itself. There's a sense of legacy to it, a voice that speaks of culture, the land and its people.

I urge everyone to go and listen to previous single I'm Getting Ready, which is even better. Coming from the small beginnings of a humble MySpace page and London gigs, Kiwanuka took to Jools Holland's Later show last week, one imagines it won't be the last time he graces our TV screens.

Touting an old Bob Dylan box set given to him by a friend as one of his many influences, Home Again is the sound of a man ready to speak his own piece on the world, to lay down his own hymn to life.

Home Again is released on the 1st January and can be pre-ordered on iTunes here.